Exhibition: Women and the Church of England

This exhibition marks the 30th anniversary of the ordination of 1200 women to the priesthood in the Church of England, the 80th anniversary of the priesting of Florence Li Tim-Oi, and the 10th anniversary of the legislation passing which allows women to be consecrated as bishops in the Church of England.

The ordination of women within the Church of England, and across the Anglican Communion, was and remains a subject of impassioned debate. In the exhibition we have provided a small selection of material which gives a flavour of the debates, discussions, and concerns which surrounded the ordination of women. We are pleased to be able to display a copy of the 1944 letter announcing Florence Li Tim-Oi's ordination and explaining the situation which led to it. The exhibition also explores the broader context of women's ministry in the Church in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Central to the narrative are the stories of some of those women whose steps led the way to women's ministry within the Church of England, such as Angela Burdett-Coutts, Octavia Hill, Dame Betty Ridley, Elizabeth Ferard, Isabella Gilmore, Florence Li Tim-Oi, and the 32 women ordained as priests in Bristol on 12 March 1994.